ABSTRACT
The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.) Historic District is the historic heart of the Old Fourth Ward, once a prominent, prosperous Atlanta community. The loss of middle-class dollars stripped much of the luster from Sweet Auburn as a business district, and when the neighborhood was bisected by an expressway during a mid-sixties urban renewal program, its fate was sealed. The City of Atlanta, utilizing US Department of Housing and Urban Development resources, provides some operational support and project financing for community housing development organizations. The vacuum left by the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) inactivity was filled by those less committed to its ideal of the importance of community and affordable housing in the residential section of the neighborhood and the need to preserve its historic architecture on the commercial end. The revitalization of Sweet Auburn requires three things: leadership, political will, and resources.
